My "new" now working Sylvania Halolight TV
 

About 2 months ago, my wife and I drove to Minnesota and picked up a Sylvania Halolight TV that I found on Craigslist. Got it for $150, and of course "it worked". Well obviously something that old needs attention to get it working again. Well, the halolight was supposed to light, and did sometimes, however it did flicker, and sometimes it would go out, or not come on at all. It did have a raster bringing it up slowly, but of course no picture. CRT is nice and bright, and is a rebuilt from 1958. Well, got working on it, completely recapped it, cleaned all controls, tube sockets, tuner, etc, and replaced a couple of tubes as well. I disconnected the electrolytic cans and wired replacements underneath. After servicing it, I powered it up on the bench, and WOW, I got a nearly perfect picture, after making all the adjustments needed. It is model 21C501B. (I assume the B means blond cabinet). Now for the halolight. Well I had to disassemble the console cabinet completely to get to it, and it seemed to be a neon type tube, with white phosphor coating, powered by a step up transformer to about 550v. I checked with neon sign company's and the going price to have one custom made was around $150 or more. Well, no luck in finding a replacement, so I found a neon look LED rope light on ebay in white, and it was available in different lengths. Removed the old halolight tube and replaced it with the LED rope light, using the old clips and glueing it in some places. Getting it all back together it looks just like the original. I assume the set was made around 1953 or 54, as the original tubes in the set have a code date in 1953. Set is complete, with the back and all the knobs, and the cabinet has been well taken care of. I guess the reason that this set interests me so much is that it's very similar to our first TV set when I was 5 years old. (I'm now 62). Attached are some pictures of it and my work on it. I plan on keeping it as a keepsake for now, watching it from time to time. I have no idea what it would be worth today in it's restored condition.

Looks pretty cool....

Was that the one on Rochester Craigslist?

I have a couple of newer Halolights. Both of mine work but one has had the xformer replaced.

That's a nice set. Good job.

Nice Job!
I always liked the Halolight, would like to get one in the future...

Yes, this was the one in Rochester. Not only was I excited to get the TV, but wife and I had a great time staying overnight in a motel, swimming, shopping, eating out, etc. It was a great getaway for us. I enjoy weekend getaways. PS, the selenium rectifiers have been replaced with silicon diodes, however I left them there for looks. Some of the aquadag on the crt was flaking off, so I painted it with a conductive gold paint containing copper.

My next project will be replacing the audio detector transformer/coil, in my RCA TS721. Otherwise I've got it working pretty good, and then I have a Philco 2 chassis B&W from the 50s, with doors on the front that still needs to be completely recapped, checked out, etc. That one (the Philco) also has a good CRT.

I have the same looking set but it is a table model it is going to need work it will be for sell soon I just got out of the hospital do to a fluke in my brain they think I may have had a blood clot pass through it really made me lose a few days of memory hopefully I will recover soon...Timothy

It's fortunate that your problem was caught in an early state. You have youth on your side.
Best wishes for a quick recovery! :thmbsp:

Thats a nice solid set there and the chassis looks great as well. Thanks for a great solution for a bad halo (cold-cathode) lamp!

You are fortunate to have a pre-printed circuit halolight, and a decent, common 21" picture tube also.
I have some work to restore my '59 Halolight 'sylouette with the "upstairs" PC board from hell and weak 21CQP4.